Lone Rose
by Rowena of Naxen
Summary: Rosemary Crow, Aly and Nawat's daughter, is going to Tortall as her best friend Prince Elsren's bodyguard and companion. She will have to deal with everything from meeting her family to fighting assassins. -canon pairings, please R&R-


**Lone Rose:** Chapter 1: Arrival

Alanna was very excited to meet her youngest granddaughter. Aly hadn't said much about Rosemary in her letters, except that she was bright and Gifted, and she served as bodyguard to Prince Elsren, who was also her best friend.

George wrapped his arm around his wife's waist as she stood on tip-toe, trying to see what was keeping the people on the ship from coming onto the pier.

"Calm down, lass, they'll be here." He said quietly. He was excited too-Rose was the only one of Aly's six children he had never met.

"I know," Alanna sighed and leaned into his chest. Just then the trumpets blared, announcing the arrival of royalty. Alanna and George watched from the front of the crowd as the main party of ambassadors walked onto the dock.

First came the prince, Queen Dovasary's second child and eldest son. He was dressed plainly but well, his black hair combed away from alert brown eyes and a sharp, tanned face. He was clearly part raka. A sword and a dagger hung from his belt. The crier announced him as Prince Elsren Haiming Taimada Balitang of the Copper Isles.

On his right flank stood a girl with tanned pale skin, auburn red hair and quick grey-green eyes. She was dressed in a white silk shirt and black breeches and boots, and she was loaded with weapons. Two daggers, a throwing knife, and a sword hung from her belt. In her right hand she held a staff, no doubt one with sword blades in either end, and as she raised her other hand to run it through her auburn-red hair, knocking a few black feathers loose, you could see the outline of daggers on her arm.

"Rosemary Faithful Crow!" the crier announced her. She wrinkled her tiny nose, putting a hand over her eyes and looking at the crowd waiting to greet them.

Alanna gasped. This was Aly's daughter! She had never told Alanna what Rosemary looked like, nor had she mentioned that her middle name was a tribute to Alanna's long-gone supernatural companion.

Neither Alanna nor George paid much attention as the rest of the ambassadors were announced. They were too busy staring at their granddaughter.

*****

Rose saw her grandparents immediately, of course. How could you miss the Baron and Lady of Pirate's Swoop, two of the most famous and influential people in Tortall? Knights were never inconspicuous, and for a spymaster her grandfather was quite out in the open.

They announced Elsren's very long official title, and than her. Rosemary Faithful Crow. She sighed in vexation. All of her siblings were named after her mother's family or friends, who also happened to be important people in either the Tortallan government or the Raka Rebellion. She had to be the one given a meaningless name. Of course her middle name was a memorial, but not to a person. To a cat. A constellation cat, but a cat nonetheless. And it made her last name sound like an old-fashioned raka healer. Faithful Crow.

She put a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun and scanned the crowd. No potential assassins. Hopefully Elsren would be safe here, unlike their trip to the Yamani Isles. He had almost been killed by an assassin hired by a luarin house in the Isles, one still upset about the rebellion-that was all they had gotten out of him before his Truth Spell had killed him. Not even Rose, mage that she was, could have removed it, and she thought it strange he had a Spell-usually professional assassins didn't allow Spells put on them.

When Elsren called her name she realized she'd been drifing off again. They were getting into carts to ride back to the palace. Elsren gestured for her to sit next to him, and she did with a smile.

"Do you recognize any of these people?" he asked her under his breath.

"I think I saw my grandparents, but no one else." She whispered back. "We'll just have to wait 'til we get to the palace to find out." She leaned back in her seat, fingering one of the daggers at her waist. The trip to Tortall had been mostly uneventful-hopefully things would stay that way. Yet even if there was no danger, there was still her grandparents and uncles and adoptive relatives (including the King and Queen of Tortall) to meet. Rose sighed. It was going to be a long day.

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, Tamora Pierce does.**

_A/N: So I'm starting yet another new story. But please do review and tell me what you think of this one. Thanks! -rowena_


End file.
